Let’s empower the OSP, not scrap it – Bentil

Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has called for renewed support for the Office of the Special Prosecutor, saying the institution should be strengthened rather than abolished.

Speaking in an interview on Saturday, December 13, Bentil warned that persistent calls for the closure of the office risk weakening Ghana’s fight against corruption at a time when public trust in accountability institutions remains fragile.

Bentil acknowledged that the OSP faces operational challenges but argued that these are reasons for reform, not repeal.

“I don’t think we should scrap the OSP; let’s empower the office to perform better. The chorus for the collapse of the office must stop,” he said.

His remarks followed intense debate in Parliament after a private member’s bill was introduced to repeal the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017.

The bill, sponsored by Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga and South Dayi MP Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, pointed to concerns including overlapping prosecutorial roles with the Attorney General, high operational costs and limited visible impact.

However, President John Dramani Mahama later asked Parliament to withdraw the bill, reaffirming his support for the OSP as a critical anti-corruption institution.

He has described demands for its abolition as premature and stressed that the office occupies a unique position because it has independent prosecutorial authority and operates outside partisan control.